*SPOILER FREE FOR ALL YOU FEVER NOOBS*…all two of you…It’s no secret that Fever is my favorite series of all time. This is my third re-read of it and the entire reason I first decided to give these books another go was to force myself to attempt to properly review them and not just drool over Jericho Barrons for five pages.Mmmmm, Jericho, om nom nom nom nom nom. Damn it, there I go again. Anywho, there are a lot of reasons that I love this series aside from the male lead. I’m going to go with a numbered list here as it seems to be the only way to make sense of all my feels.1. The way in which the story is toldOur narrator and MC, MacKayla Lane, has been through hell. You know this from page one, line one, where she says:“My philosophy is pretty simple – any day nobody’s trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven’t had many good days lately”This series is told in retrospect and because of this we, the readers, get all sorts of ominous warnings throughout it along the lines of “If I had only known”, “One day those words would come back to haunt me”, “He’d never let me forget that fact” and so on. While I loved this series the first time I read it, I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have. Only upon my first re-read did I really grasp the genius of KMM. I noticed so many minute details that hinted at things to come and all those warnings made complete sense because I now knew what she was referencing. Ms. Moning must have had the entire thing planned out in advance, how else can you explain all the hidden gems I’ve stumbled across? Even now, on my FOURTH read of this series, I’m still noticing things I didn’t pick up on before. 2. MacKayla Lane. I love her. I was behind her from page one, line one. In fact, I’ve never not loved her. This is because, on a lot of levels, I get her. Because I used to be her. When I was Mac's age, I too was a sunshine girl, a rainbow girl. I used to wear beautiful dresses to work, spent hours on my outward appearance, accessorized to the nines and always tried to be nice to people. I even had a propensity for the words “sir” and “ma’am”. And I got all sorts of comments about that. My hair in that photo is actually a little darker than I normally kept it because after a while, you get sort of sick of hearing people compare you to Paris Hilton. Do I look anything like her? No. Did people still whisper that shit all the time? Yes. Why? Maybe because I was blonde and I liked colorful clothes. Maybe because they’re assholes. I couldn’t really tell you. What those people failed to realize was that I'd been taking martial arts since I was old enough to throw a punch, and that the pretty little matching purse I clutched in my perfectly manicured nails held a five inch blade that I could hit you in the chest with from twenty feet away. Even if you dodged and the blade somehow missed I could probably break five joints or bones in your body before you realized what had happened.*grins* I think what people fail to realize about Mac is that she’s exactly the same way. Oh sure, she might talk about how much she likes to accessorize and has a propensity for the color pink but you have to look deeper than that. What’s the first thing she thinks about after she emerges from the haze of grief caused by her sister’s murder? Vengeance. Mac’s makeup is her war-paint. Her clothes are her chainmail.“I might be bruised and bewildered, but by God I looked good. Like a smile I didn’t really feel, presenting a together appearance made me feel more together inside, and I badly needed bolstering today.”3. The world-buildingPerfection. On every level. There’s not one point in this book that I felt like KMM was info dumping. In part that’s because the reader is learning about the world as Mac is learning. Instead of filling page upon page of the potentially boring conversations between Mac and Barrons, KMM has Mac record the necessities in her journal. Brilliant! The fae lore, the sidhe-seers and even the OOPs are revealed piece by pertinent piece. You’re given just enough to fully understand what’s going on in each scene but are constantly waiting for more. 4. DublinI’ve never been. Before reading this series, I sort of wanted to go. There were definitely a lot of European cities higher up on my list of places I had to visit before I die. After reading Fever? MUST. GO. NOW. The city transcends a backdrop and becomes a character itself. The Temple Bar District, the fictional dead-zones, even the Garda station jumped off of the pages at me. I had a perfect image in my mind of each one and when I Googled most of them afterwards, I was shocked by just how similar the real images were to the ones I’d imagined. I want to spend a week there and explore it all. I want to get lost in the south side amongst the liberals and the elite and then cross the river Liffey and mingle with the blue collar Catholic Irish. I want to drink Guinness and try to figure out just what the hell people are saying. I want to eat stew and listen to faery tales. 5. Jericho Mothafuckin BarronsA lot of people picture David Gandy for JZB. Fuck that shit. Yes, I said it. His eyes are too light. He’s too frigging pretty. JZB is darker, more carnal, purely sexual and intensely masculine. Only one man comes to mind when I think of him:The best way I know to describe him to those who have yet to meet him is self-contained. Every move he makes has a purpose, every sentence he speaks is full of meaning. He is the bearer of hard truths. When Mac would rather hide in the comfort of a convenient lie, he grabs her by the throat and forces her to face reality. He’s an unapologetic asshole. He’s cutthroat, mercenary, dangerous. I blame evolution for my attraction to him. Some lesser evolved part of my brain reads about Jericho Barrons and thinks “That man could not only defend your young but would happily slaughter anyone that even thought of threatening you.” He makes my cavewoman stand up and take notice. In closing, I doubt I can ever really explain just why this series is my favorite but I hope the above has begun to do it some sort of justice. More to come as this massive buddy read continues…
Buddy read with a TON of friends.This is how it feels right now: everyone is on Team Jericho: And then we have me: Pic courtesy of Cory. Thanks, Cory. You shouldn't have. No, really, you shouldn't have.This fucking book.I don't even know how to go about describing my love/hate relationship with this book. Actually, it is mostly hate. I hated every single character in this book, and yet I willingly read on anyway. I don't understand it at all. It is the equivalent of watching midget porn, not that I actually watch midget porn, it's just an example. WHATEVER. The point is, it's ugly, it is horrifying, it is disgusting, but you just can't bring yourself to look away.I give this book too little credit, I feel, in my rant over my hatred of Jericho and MacKayla. It truly is a well-written book. It is a testament to how good it is when the characters evoke such emotions within me, that I feel that they are realistic, complex, believable characters. The mythology is based upon the fae, the Tuatha de Danaan. It is beautifully written and a credit to the author that I loved it this much despite how much I disliked the main characters.Praises over, it's time for me to go off on how much I HATE JERICHO AND MAC.I hated MacKayla's immaturity and prissiness, improbable action and TSTL behavior. I don't care if you're a Southern Miss. You are a grown-ass woman. You can fucking curse when you want to. I was raised to be a lady by my mother, too, my very proper Asian mother who is as stringent (and astringent) on proper behavior as much as a Southern mom. I would die before I use bad language before my mother. Behind her back, I curse like a fucking sailor. I use language that would make the most hardened soul blush. Stupid little Mac with her "petunias" and her "fudge-buckets" and her multitude of platitudes for curses. Fuck you. You're an adult. Act like it."Because I was blonde, easy on the eyes, and guys had been snapping my bra strap since seventh grade, I'd been putting up with the Barbie stereotype for years."Guess what, honey? That's actually an accurate stereotype and a stupid statement to make because throughout the book, you act exactly like a brainless Barbie the majority of the time. I admire her initiative, she's out to solve her sister's murder. I get that, I sympathize, I absolutely do. I have a sister of my own, a little sister; I would jump through hellfire for her. I understand Mac's anger, her need for closure, and to an extent, her grief."Oh, go ahead," I hissed. "Just kill me and get it over with. Put me out of my misery!" Missing Alina was worse than a terminal illness. At least when you were terminal you knew the pain was going to end eventually. But there was no light at the end of my tunnel. Grief was going to devour me, day into night, night into day, and although I might feel like I was dying from it, might even wish I was, I never would.You can bet your petuniaass that I would damn well investigate my sister's mysterious death, if she were to die."I might not be the brightest bulb in the box, but I wasn't the dimmest, either."You sure about that, Mac?"He didn't just occupy space; he saturated it. About thirty, six foot two or three, he had dark hair, golden skin, and dark eyes. His features were strong, chiseled. He wasn't handsome. That was too calm a word. He was intensely masculine. He was sexual. He attracted. There was an omnipresent carnality about him, in his dark eyes, in his full mouth, in the way he stood."Ok, Jericho is supposed to be hot? You know who else is considered hot? Serial killers like Richard Ramirez and Jeffrey Dahmer. And as for stalkery behavior, he's got Edward Cullen beat. And Mr. Sparkles is less of an asshat."I am unaccustomed to asking for what I want. Nor am I accustomed to bartering with a woman," he said finally.I know there's a lot of people out there who find Jericho attractive; I can't comprehend it. He is larger-than-life, true, he has a magnetic presence, true. But I am the type who likes a gentleman, a gentle man, Jericho is not. There is rarely a moment of softness with him. He is the alpha male of alpha males. You know those monsters that jump out of a haunted house and goes BOO? That's Jericho. He constantly jumps close to Mac and scares the shit out of her. It gets old. Condescension, intimidation, and fear are tactics of interrogation, not seduction. I do not find him remotely romantic, it does not get my panties wet. Nope nope nope.Characters aside, this was a very well-written book. The description of the dark, damp, dreary environment of Ireland I did love the incorporation of Celtic myth, of the portrayal of the fae. They are not fairies, as initially believed by Mac. They are horrendous, rotting, foul creatures. Outwardly beautiful, like the spectacular LegolasV'lane, they are inwardly manipulative, and disgustingly sexually abusive. They literally suck the life out of a person, stealing their outward beauty and inner spirit. I loved the portrayal of the dark side, the horrifying side, of the world of fae. It is a complete 180 from the wonderfully bright and beautiful world of fairies about which I have read in the past.Reluctantly recommended by me.
What do You think about Darkfever (2006)?
I don't read a lot of NA. But Karen Marie Moning's book has clearly made itself an exception.I will be continuing this series. I am a bit easier grading NA than YA because NA is not my chosen genre, so please note a "5" in NA would be a "4" for YA. (I just don't carry the same expectations).PROS:* Mac: A beautiful Barbie-type girl but she isn't naïve about her looks or arrogant or anything. She accepts that she is good-looking without putting herself down or excluding arrogance.* Barrons. That hot mysterious guy (who I think is the missing winter King) who has wonderful moments of satiric dialogue with Mac.* The concept of "Death by Sex" fae (definitely an NA book lol). It was interesting and I'd never heard of it before but I liked the idea of Mac fighting her attraction to V'Lane.* The setting: Ireland. YESSS.* The satire -reminds me a lot of Mary Janice Davidson's Undead series* No sex in this first book, but it still kept me glued to the page. I liked that we are actually building a relationship for Mac & Barrons. I hate instalove and this was refreshing. I didn't mind that there was no sex in an NA book. That's a good thing.* All scenes with Mac & Barrons. I don't know. It wasn't steaming with tension but it felt refreshing. Especially their "he didn't say" and then "I didn't say" silent exchanges.* Writing style -I didn't feel compelled to skim like I do with a lot of NA. It kept me interested even during the slow parts.CONS:* Not enough fae, butttt this is supposed to be a urban fantasy so that makes sense (I just prefer fantasy fantasy).* I didn't fall in love with Barrons. Yet. I suspect this comes later.* Not a whole lot happened. But it's a long series so I guess that's to be expected in NA. I mean, there was an end twist but before that it kind of dragged.* V'Lane. He creeps me out. I usually always like the "seducer" but with him I don't. Plus he is described with (if I remember clearly) long blonde hair and I was getting a Fabio-vibe. Nuh-uh.
—Rachel Carter
I went into this book expecting to possibly die of swoons, sexy times and badass battle scenes, but right now I kind of just want to push every character in this book off a cliff. And if I'm lucky, there will be a mob of angry Aimee clones there with pitchforks right at the bottom.You're probably thinking, Hey, the characters can't be that bad! Maybe they aren't. Okay, I'm kidding. They totally are. At least, they are in my book.Ladies and gents, I present to you, MacKayla Lane:No, I'm serious. I am fucking baffled as to why she keeps claiming not to be a Barbie (meaning your typical blond and very pink idiot) when she honestly is one. This woman is a complete asshole who lacks any sort of common sense. I mean, she basically walks towards danger. Who does that? She's also incredibly vain, shallow and ignorant, never forgetting to mention how pretty she is and how she can "never pull off ugly."Then we have Jerricho Barons. He's basically Christian Grey... minus the excessive love for BDSM. This douchebag is manipulative, abusive, and also has the same personality as a cardboard box. Okay, I lied. A cardboard box would have much more personality than him.On the other side of the spectrum, we have V'lane, a Fae who basically kills people by making them want sex so bad it makes them go crazy. (Yes, even Mac. Surprise, surprise!) So, he's also abusive and talks like he owns the Earth and everyone in it. Not attractive. At all.Also, every single guy Mac meets in this book is apparently hot/sexy/attractive/buff/cute/dresses nicely. Where are the regular people? Where are the unattractive ones? WHAT UNIVERSE DOES MACKAYLA LANE LIVE IN?!Another little qualm of mine: How the heck is this book listed as a romance novel? Where is the actual romance?! Someone please shove it in my face because I really, really can't see it. We only see hints of a blossoming "attraction" and basically no other swoony feelings whatsoever. I can't even say that Mac and Barrons are friends, let alone anything more.Rage-inducing things aside, this book definitely had a lot of potential. Moning definitely didn't shy away from writing graphic descriptions (and we all know I'm a huge fan of that) and creating such odd creatures. My eyes widened every time Mac encountered a creepy new Fae.Oh but wait! I have another complaint! The ending managed to be predictable and random both at the same time. The actual "bam" moment turned out to be a "meh" one. As a bonus, we got Mac suddenly turning into a killing machine without any past training! Hooray.Because I'm a masochist I've been told that this series gets better, however, I'm still going to read the sequels. Eventually.Deadly Darlings | The Social Potato | The Book Geek | Twitter | Instagram
—Aimee
I admit, I struggled at the beginning of this. I was having a hard time being able to root for Mac. But I stuck with it, and THANK GOD I did, because this series turned out to be the best urban fantasy series I've ever read. Karen Marie Moning is one of those writers who make me green with jealousy. She's absolutely brilliant. I HIGHLY recommend this series, and if you have a hard time with this first book, try skipping to the second -- KMM gives a fabulous summary of book one in book two, so you won't be lost. By book two, Mac has changed so much, and Barrons is just...YUM. Awesome series!
—Larissa Ione
